How to Create/Use Seasons in BakeSmart
What Can Be Accessed
Seasons in BakeSmart allow you to manage product availability throughout the year. They help you control when certain products can be ordered, based on production windows, ingredient availability, and labor needs—across both your POS and eCommerce store.
What Are Seasons?
Seasons are created in Settings > Products > Seasons and are more than just organizational tags. They define when products can be ordered, ensuring smooth operations and minimizing off-season requests.
Use Seasons to manage:
- Holiday-specific items
- Limited-time promotions
- Labor-intensive products tied to certain times of year
- Seasonal catering or event menus
Examples of Seasonal Products:
- Gingerbread Houses (Christmas only)
- Heart-shaped Cookie Kits (Valentine’s Day only)
- Easter Bunny Cakes (Spring only)
💡 Key Point: Products assigned to a Season are only orderable during that Season’s active window. Outside that window, they’re visible to staff for reference, but unavailable for purchase.
At a Glance: How to Add a Season
- Go to Settings > Products > Seasons
- Click Add Season
- Enter a clear, customer-friendly name (e.g., “Christmas 2024,” “Valentine’s Day Preorders”)
- Set the start and end dates—these are full calendar days controlling when customers can order products assigned to this Season
- Click Save
Repeat as needed for other seasonal periods
Why Seasons Are Important
Seasons provide structure and consistency for managing your catalog:
Staff Clarity: Employees can see what’s coming up—even if it’s not yet available—so they’re prepared to answer customer questions.
Customer Preview: Seasonal items can appear in your store and online menus as “coming soon,” helping generate interest and plan ahead.
Production Efficiency: Avoids off-season production demands for complex or specialty items that aren’t feasible year-round.
Order Accuracy: Prevents accidental orders for products that can’t be produced out-of-season.
💡 Think of Seasons as a “calendar-based product toggle” that ensures your menus and production schedules are aligned.
Advanced Ordering and Seasons
💡 Important Note: Products assigned to a Season are always visible to staff for planning, but they can only be ordered during that Season’s active window. However, BakeSmart allows for advanced ordering—as long as the order’s pickup or fulfillment date falls within the active Season window.
Example:
A customer could place an order for a holiday Gingerbread House in June if your bakery allows advanced ordering and the pickup date is set in December (inside the Christmas Season window). BakeSmart will respect your Order Lead Time and the Season window to ensure this works smoothly.
💡 This flexibility supports early planning while still honoring your seasonal production schedule.
What Seasons Are Not For
Seasons are not for products that are always available but happen to be more popular during certain months.
Example: Blueberry Pie might be a spring favorite, but if it’s available year-round, it doesn’t need a Season tag. Use Categories, Subcategories, or descriptive product names to highlight these types of seasonal themes.
Clarifying Details & Best Practices
Visibility: Season names are visible to customers online, so use clean and professional naming.
Ordering Windows: Start and end dates directly control when ordering is allowed.
Holiday Closures: Double-check Season dates against any holiday closures or ordering exceptions already set in your system. If your bakery is closed on a Season’s final day, products tied to that Season won’t be orderable on that day.
Consistency: Use consistent naming (like “Thanksgiving 2024”) for easier tracking and future reactivation.
Access: Only users with the appropriate permissions (Admins, Owners, and Managers) can create and manage Seasons—hourly staff will not have access.
Applying Seasons to Products
After you’ve created your Seasons:
Assign them to individual products in the Edit Products tab.
Products can belong to multiple Seasons if needed (e.g., Gingerbread Houses might be tagged as both “Christmas 2024” and “Holiday Preorders”).
BakeSmart automatically manages availability, blocking off-season orders while keeping items visible to staff for future planning.
How to Delete a Season
If you need to remove an outdated or no longer used Season:
- Go to Settings > Products > Seasons.
- You’ll see the Seasons List page by default.
- Click on the name of the Season you wish to delete to open the Season Details menu.
- Locate the Delete Season button and click it.
- Confirm that you want to delete this Season.
💡 Deleting a Season may affect any products previously linked to that Season. BakeSmart removes the Season tag from those products, but it does not delete the products themselves. If you’re unsure how this might impact reporting or historical data, consult your onboarding specialist or BakeSmart Support before proceeding.
Tips for Using Seasons
Plan ahead: Create Seasons early so your team has time to prepare.
Limit to true seasonal items: Don’t overuse them—keep your catalog clean.
Communicate with staff: Let your team know what’s tied to each Season.
Review regularly: Revisit your Seasons list annually to stay current.
Support & Training
📹 Video Walkthrough: TBD
